Durability of Blu-ray Discs

[dave63]

I have had several Blu-ray Discs fail recently for no apparent reason. Namely;
Star Trek Into Darkness- Disc suddenly started freezing at approx 01:10:00
Starship Troopers: started freezing at similar elapsed time point. On reloading, the disc would simply freeze at any point.
In both cases the discs were only a couple of years old, had seen little use and were in perfect condition, clean with absolutely no marks, scratches or blemishes of any kind.
My player is a Sony BDP S7200 which has just turned 7yrs old. I tried them in my partner’s Samsung player (unsure of mode) which is a year or two older than mine and in both cases exactly the same thing happened, suggesting the discs were at fault.
I would interested to hear of other peoples experiences or possible explanation. When the disc has been stored correctly and appears in perfect condition it makes no sense to me.
Also, what is the experience with 4K discs, especially given they hold so more data, with finer tolerances?
Thanks in anticipation

 

[michael hoy]

Have you tried a newer not older disc player.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

I've never had a blu ray fail - had the odd one that's not worked from scratch, but that's another thing. No probs with 4k either, again bar one which wouldn't play from the off. I've been buying blu rays since 2010 and have hundreds, so I'd hope my experience is pretty representative.

Check for firmware updates, and try as Michael says.

 

[Freddy]

I currently have a similar problem with my Guns N Roses Use Your illusion DVD that skips in exactly the same position no matter what 4K Blu-ray player I use. I will have to try cleaning it, is my next step.

 

[davidf]

With freezing and skipping, it’s more likely to be the player with an issue, or some software update that has affected something. I have experienced some freezing recently, but I’ve yet to find out if it’s due to a software update, or maybe my player just needs an enema.

If a disc “fails”, your player won’t be able to read it. I have three discs (two from Icon Distribution) that my player can suddenly no longer read. There was an issue around 2007/2008 where the binding agent to bond the two layers wasn’t 100%, and has resulted in complete disc failure. Instead of showing the title of the disc I feed my player, it just shows “BD DATA”. No player can read it, not even a PC Bluray drive.

 

[Arron]

I have had several Blu-ray Discs fail recently for no apparent reason. Namely;
Star Trek Into Darkness- Disc suddenly started freezing at approx 01:10:00
Starship Troopers: started freezing at similar elapsed time point. On reloading, the disc would simply freeze at any point.
In both cases the discs were only a couple of years old, had seen little use and were in perfect condition, clean with absolutely no marks, scratches or blemishes of any kind.
My player is a Sony BDP S7200 which has just turned 7yrs old. I tried them in my partner’s Samsung player (unsure of mode) which is a year or two older than mine and in both cases exactly the same thing happened, suggesting the discs were at fault.
I would interested to hear of other peoples experiences or possible explanation. When the disc has been stored correctly and appears in perfect condition it makes no sense to me.
Also, what is the experience with 4K discs, especially given they hold so more data, with finer tolerances?
Thanks in anticipation

If there are no obvious scratches on the optical side of the disc, you've probably scratched the top. Not many realise but the silver bit you see on the optical side is not encased in the plastic, it's the underside of the top surface layer. So you can scratch a CD, DVD or BD from the top too.

I found this out back in the 90s when a friend borrowed a stack of discs and selotaped them together before returning them so none got lost. When I removed the selotape, it took a big chunk of the CD label with it and there was nothing but transparent disc left underneath. Which brings me to, how do you know if you've scratched the top? Hold the disc up to the light, if you can see through it... :\

 

[RayP]

Around 20 years ago I bought my first DVD player. A Philips Matchline. Over the next few years it refused to play many disks. The shop was very patient with me and swapped them but to no avail.

I gave up on it and in 2004 bought a Arcam DV79. Expensive but every disk worked. Since then I moved to an Oppo 203 in 2016 and again, no problem with any disk be it DVD, Blu-ray or 4K.

It’s almost certainly the player that’s responsible, not the media. More expensive players are better in reading disks.

 

[bigboss]

More expensive players are better in reading disks.

It's got nothing to do with the cost of the player, rather the proactivity of the manufacturer in issuing firmware updates. The commonest cause of discs freezing is outdated software.

 

[manicm]

My 10 year old Cambridge Audio 751BD still works perfectly. Never come across a disc that won't read. Just got Dune.

 

[Al ears]

It's got nothing to do with the cost of the player, rather the proactivity of the manufacturer in issuing firmware updates. The commonest cause of discs freezing is outdated software.

This doesn't really explain why they fail at the same point on different machines though

 

[bigboss]

This doesn't really explain why they fail at the same point on different machines though

Check this for example. Different titles freezing at exact spots and the solution is a firmware update (note the firmware number is different for different discs).

Troubleshooting - Blu-ray disc freezes during playing back. - Panasonic North America

eng-ca.faq.panasonic.com

Both Sony and Samsung players may need similar updates for that particular film disc.

Make sure both Sony and Samsung players' firmware are up-to-date and try again..

 

[dave63]

Thanks all for your replies. I checked my player again and firmware wise it’s up to date (being 7yrs old prob not been one for years). I am thinking a new (obviously 4K) player, am thinking Sony UXB800M2, it is starting to look like pick one up while you can!

 

[RayP]

It's got nothing to do with the cost of the player, rather the proactivity of the manufacturer in issuing firmware updates. The commonest cause of discs freezing is outdated software.

I’ve only had three players over 22 years and the Philips was the worst. Around 2000 firmware updates over the internet were probably in their infancy. The user was at the mercy of the manufacturer.

I don’t ever recall my DV79 having firmware updates but maybe it had been out a while and no more were required.

 

[manicm]

My Cambridge Audio 751BD has played all discs without fail, it's 11 years old, last firmware update was about 5 years ago. Dune Bluray through it on my 4k TV has excellent picture quality, and outputs Dolby Atmos. It's proved to be a gift that keeps on giving, especially since I'll probably never acquire a 4k disc player sadly.

 

[podknocker]

I have had several Blu-ray Discs fail recently for no apparent reason. Namely;
Star Trek Into Darkness- Disc suddenly started freezing at approx 01:10:00
Starship Troopers: started freezing at similar elapsed time point. On reloading, the disc would simply freeze at any point.
In both cases the discs were only a couple of years old, had seen little use and were in perfect condition, clean with absolutely no marks, scratches or blemishes of any kind.
My player is a Sony BDP S7200 which has just turned 7yrs old. I tried them in my partner’s Samsung player (unsure of mode) which is a year or two older than mine and in both cases exactly the same thing happened, suggesting the discs were at fault.
I would interested to hear of other peoples experiences or possible explanation. When the disc has been stored correctly and appears in perfect condition it makes no sense to me.
Also, what is the experience with 4K discs, especially given they hold so more data, with finer tolerances?
Thanks in anticipation

I used to own a Sony UXB800 and it did a similar thing. I'm wondering if the transition from one layer to another causes a sudden pause, as the player's buffer is not large enough to hold the data and cannot provide a seamless stream of data, from one layer to another. I don't know why that would occur with a DVD, but I certainly had a few issues, around half way through some of my Blu Ray discs. Could it be the servo/optics/transport, trying to focus on the second layer and it just glitches? I've always been fastidious with the condition of my discs, but you can have scratches on discs and players can still see through these and focus on the metal bit.

 

[davidf]

I used to own a Sony UXB800 and it did a similar thing. I'm wondering if the transition from one layer to another causes a sudden pause, as the player's buffer is not large enough to hold the data and cannot provide a seamless stream of data, from one layer to another. I don't know why that would occur with a DVD, but I certainly had a few issues, around half way through some of my Blu Ray discs. Could it be the servo/optics/transport, trying to focus on the second layer and it just glitches? I've always been fastidious with the condition of my discs, but you can have scratches on discs and players can still see through these and focus on the metal bit.

Do you have anything sitting on top of your player?

 

[podknocker]

Do you have anything sitting on top of your player?

Hi there. My sturdy Sony 4k tank was sold a while ago. I watch all my video content on my laptop now. I have loads of CDs, DVDs, a few Blu Rays and a couple of 4k films, but I am now seriously considering a trip to a shop, to sell them. I know I can find all my tunes online. I don't have any interest in TVs now. I want to get a decent graphics card for my new PC and have the laptop as a spare. I've been 'decluttering' for a while and I intend to own as few devices as possible now. I loved the sound and picture quality of the optical formats, but I have to face facts, the future is streaming and downloading. I won't buy another disc.

 

[davidf]

Hi there. My sturdy Sony 4k tank was sold a while ago. I watch all my video content on my laptop now. I have loads of CDs, DVDs, a few Blu Rays and a couple of 4k films, but I am now seriously considering a trip to a shop, to sell them. I know I can find all my tunes online. I don't have any interest in TVs now. I want to get a decent graphics card for my new PC and have the laptop as a spare. I've been 'decluttering' for a while and I intend to own as few devices as possible now. I loved the sound and picture quality of the optical formats, but I have to face facts, the future is streaming and downloading. I won't buy another disc.

Ok. It’s just that I found that the freezing on my X800m2 was some sort of overheating issue - I had a few remotes and my Sky box sitting on top of it, and the Sky box gets quite warm. It seems that this wasn’t helping the Sony to dissipate heat, and caused the freezing. I came to that conclusion as I had it happen to a film I was playing off USB, so it was therefore nothing to do with the drive. Since I’ve moved my Sky box, it hasn’t happened.

 

[podknocker]

If I remember, the Sony is a sealed unit and has no ventilation holes at all, just the top surface to act like a sink. The mechanical bits should be able to cope with the heat, but it was probably the chips getting a bit toasty. It was a nice bit of kit and I loved the materials, build quality and design. Great picture and sound, with true universal disc and format support. Perfect product really and if I ever want a TV again, then I would certainly buy the Mk2 version. Also, you mention USB. When I did have a TV, I remember playing Game of Thrones, on a USB3 drive and it go so hot, it would crash. It was incredibly warm and difficult to handle, the few seconds after unplugging. Crackers.

 

[davidf]

If I remember, the Sony is a sealed unit and has no ventilation holes at all, just the top surface to act like a sink. The mechanical bits should be able to cope with the heat, but it was probably the chips getting a bit toasty. It was a nice bit of kit and I loved the materials, build quality and design. Great picture and sound, with true universal disc and format support. Perfect product really and if I ever want a TV again, then I would certainly buy the Mk2 version. Also, you mention USB. When I did have a TV, I remember playing Game of Thrones, on a USB3 drive and it go so hot, it would crash. It was incredibly warm and difficult to handle, the few seconds after unplugging. Crackers.

It was a few months ago too now, back when it was quite warm, so ambient temperature wouldn’t have helped. Certainly won’t be happening at the moment!

I’ve watched a number of films off of a USB stick plugged into the Sony, and only had an issue with the one, which as I say, pointed me away from the drive being an issue. So I looked elsewhere, and decided it was the Sky box not helping. Seems to have worked so far.

 

[Al ears]

Over the next few years it refused to play many disks. The shop was very patient with me and swapped them but to no avail.

sorry? What are you referring to?

 

[Pistolpete1]

To the OP.....

I, too, have the same Sony blu Ray player and have experienced similar issues with a couple of my blu Ray discs. From memory, one was a U2 concert 360 at the Rose Bowl.

I did the cheapest thing to resolve the issue by buying replacement discs, which resolved the issue. I concluded that it was the original disc at fault, as the second one worked fine, but it doesn't explain why it stopped working properly as the disc was in perfect condition, and had worked fine previously.